Statement at the second meeting of the national committees for onchocerciasis: Cotonou, 6-8 June 1978

IIATIO$AI COIIITTT]I FON CI.ICHOC]NCITSIS T,fi]!IISMY OF PTIBIIC IIilAI,TI-I }'J,,,]]?IEI S RT?IEtrIC OI' 3ffT]]'i S'IATU.,II'I[ A[ ,Ir.I] StC(,tD i\trtiT:L]Ic 0F IHD IiAIiONAr-, Col.J,lltfdllls 11011 01[CI.]OC:ACIASIS (corc.i'iou, 6 - B,l-dlIn 19?B) illtnister.s, Iilr Director of the Onchooer.clasi.s Cor.trol mogame, Ilepreser:ffilves of the National Cerrnrr;X1sar earc-ie.Sf.s, IaCles, Gent]-e-ea, Com"d."s, It wilr soon be a year gj:nce we net iu,ihJff:rryrrhersws ex+haraged iafcrrmfi-onto our u.rtuaL bonefit on our erperience, our shortcomlngs and our adnantages. fhe Benln llational Qenrrtif,f,ss is especiaIly g1ar1. to rvelcone Jrcu on thehospltable soil of the People's ilepublj-c of Senin and through rpe expresses the ardent wlsh that tbis second meeting of our Com:lttees w111 strengthen the linksof solid.arity betrreen uS n!,rrl ouf corrpon ho1:e to eliminate from crur countries thetemible scour1ge of river b3-L:1d.ness. 'Ihe Beni-rt National CoLgulttee, vl:ich has met at least once :] month, r.rouldtbetefore lIlce to subntt tcr you he;'e a brief sunmary of its ;iaod.est eontributionto our cormon undga{a-kin6 ln regard. both to control of the vector of onchocerclasis and. to eeonoaj-c derelopnen!.. r. vl0cI01'l coitrffii0t .. In regard. to vector c€ntro1 three iterus have. seened duriag fl:-ls last 12 nonths to be partlcularly.luporta::t for the ?eop]-ers Rcpublic Jf Benin; 1' the launcb.lng cf lnsectlcld.c sprayj::g operations firon the air; 4 the extension. of ttre ;O"*" zone; and . 5. the relationships betmp.en t&e vryiures ho6rarrrne struelrrres. 1. [he laurchfu+r of aerlal .spIe.;r+pe: You vrilJ doubtless renenbg: that becausc of the a::ned aggression of ',ilrich- tJre Pooplers RepubLlc of Benin was rricti:n on 16 Jarir:ary l97?-aerial sprayirrg of, natercourBes ln Senln ha.d. nct begun at_-tlie 'hi:me vriren _the first ooulir"g oithe National comrittees took place j.r:--tu{6.;an on 1!, .)6 -and, 17 June lg77-. It was'not r:ntiJ- Julyr 1977 th.at it was posrlble for the llelrou ald the$rborr to be gtrren--t&eir-f,tust.trcatmerrb; tN third. Isi6er trlbutary, theSota, was not slnayed r.rntil April, tg|B. b2- On each occasion the Co;rnni ttce hclped. thc vaxlous Progranne cfficlals toftrd the best and qui.clcest solutlon to the problens with vrh:ich thcy rverc facei.. -4' comifbee d.elegatj-on found durirr,g an inspeetion trip fyon T - 12 }lovenber,lgTl that tb'ere had. been a ncrkerl reduction in the nualber of larsae jn ths: breedingplace at the Porga bridge vririch had. stiil been ex'trene.]-y .active a few noilthsbefore. ' 2. ]trtension of the Frogran-:rcre zone [hose of us who havc alrearly attend.ed at least one kogramae neeti:1g, eLther of the llational Co;r':'rif,f,sss or of the Joiat Coordinctlr:g Comlittee, la:ow that on each of thcse occasions the delegation fron Benin tCies as its thene the problelr of extcr:sion. 't,Ie shalI foIIol.r ttris ?:.rbit - not that tire sltuatlon i:a"s not cvolvecl. si-nce the fourth ncetfu-rg of the JCC because you imow as well as we C.o t&at sturlies rri^LI be carried out drr::ing 1978 and 1979 to dete::n:inc the scope of the cxtensionin -bire ?eoplers R6pub1ic of 3enln, In revertrng to tiris srbject today we merely wlsh to express a desirc ;.ndto tclL you of thc am.ai:ger,:ents ;rade by tl:e Ben:in Goverurcent to ensurc that the sfird.1es arc camicd out i-rt 3ood tlmc. The d.esire we wou1d. have liked to havc been net in Iiwsaitp bert+rde i't sedns to us thst thc information of rr, cpiderdological anr{. entolologicai nafige that is avallable hcre and nov'r is enor.6h to prorride a yerJr precioe ful,ea of the 1evcl of end.enlclty of onchoce:re'iasls up to Beterou and probably as far as Basslla. the artonslon to those firilf,s is possible a"s- tLtngs are now and. lze trrrst th.et at the ncrb JCC ncetrrrqr* lvo slra]-l be 6ivcn a po,i{tiva reply. Slnce the Kuwait neet5rg the Pooplet s Espublic of 3cnin has ta-iren g'ood. note of the dccislons rcgard.J::g' extcnsion, lhe Gsverrurent h..rs :rp1.,ointed a panelto cvaluate 3enj.n's corrnterpart contribution for the extcrrsion s.buiies. Several ncetirgs }:ave bccn held either within the liatioitre-l- Co.rni ttee or i1the teeL:rlcal d.epartnents (l'rater r€sources, road.s.rnd. bridges, etc.), sone of Iti:.lch were attenrled. by Dr le 3erce or Ir girraga. The panel, under tho lcad.ersiri.p of tl:c aclmi-::istre.tive secre-bary of thcSational Cormitteer has gone to the spot to d.ctcrning J-n agrccnen't wi-th ihe representatlve of thc hcad. of the Natitin6ou cntclrologicc.l scctor, the sj.tos where lrater gaugjJrg stations lvil1 bc set up j:r thc cxtension l.one'. Ihc cost of access routes to these sites is bclng evaluatecl; ttrj-s w111 enablc thc llationalCorralttce to subnlt to the Govcr:u:cnt i:: the very near future ari overal-l esti-nete of tLre Benjrr eounterpart fuu,rds. 7. Relations r,rltl: thc various lrqgrallne strt_etlrres trlor an undcrtaidng as diffi-cul-t as the O:chocerclasis Cont-ro1 hog sr:ncto be grccessfirl, perfect ccopera-tion is necessarTr bctween the rrarious structr:res whlch are contrlbutlng to thc sf,f,alnnenf, of thc objectives wc havc deciCecl upon togettrer, So fer wc i,'-i0 ls Civlng 3 have received ,o l:espoasc but r,,e do not doubt for a ninute th:.tits attention to u.ris problen. The Senj:i project onehocerci-asls uses the ft tbercfore conpr{-ses tl:rec p}iases: the establislurent of a data berrk- the preparation of obtcuirrj.iq a banlc the drawilg-up of speclfic projects. The establishnent of the data barrk wl:.ich was jnit,-arly plar:red to ta.lce4-6 rcnths is bolng spread. ovcr a Ioi:ger perlod. Three "t.ai"" are enrrisagecl: a stu(y of tlre suitabjJ-iff cf the soil . an i:rrentony of natioru:-l resouTces taken by teled.etection uethod.s. a series of social ard eeononic s.t[flreys. 3or tha.t reason, tne Peoplcts riepub-l-lc of 3enin, through its ii,rticnalC-o'rmj-btee for On9|_occrciastst has_ et*y" sirol.m gro:.t interest ir. rrrinl-inir:t:the closest possj-ble rclation with tho progr-d Dlarp€ers and partlclpatirgas actively as nce-cled', jn tJrc v,rrious nect:&gs of the -Jolnt Col::rrinati-r6comrltree or the g4f,is;rqr corrrittees for onchocercr,rsis. rj ls in tlds spi.Iit r:f sccklng grester h;-:r:ony thi.t the l::::::::::::::::hrrionalcorlriftoe hes becn tlpel1ec1 to s4;gest soxlc a:.:endnents to the rpecial protocolbetveen the ?eoplets RepubU.c of f""in .-rnd t7r:0. As you nrobably suspoet, our coin-lttce,s partlcipati.on ls not conflncd.to these threc problcns.- lYe eould stlLl tori lou or our actlrrities to obtalntho non+rration - of cltizens; of Seuln ro" t ""inins purposes ::i:rl of our c.ifcr,tsto fc"ilitate t'he work of thc eniclan-'jo1o61cal- ano ophthal-noloilicrr] evl.lu.tlontearrs. I{onrever, we thinlr rre shor:ld not take too iuch of ycr:r valur.blc tinc. IL ICONOIIIC }iXroI0pi,tmi,I tie shal\ thercfore, nol'r dwe1l uiron the second. aspcct of or,::. joist stnrg.glca4lainst river blidrrcssr the aspect of econorilc d-cve1opa.ent. r shell sh'i-ve to sr-u::.'rize hcre the Scnin projects for the eeonorrlcdcveJ-opnont flon the zones frcer.t fron onchoeerciasis. As in other countrieq 1n Ben:i:r., .!o orr.*roc"rriasts areas ere not clevoitlof all activlties by the Gone@nt. ao ,fp"or."r, cculcr. noi-possiury, thcrefore,be dlssociated frorr the,national plai:nlrre oiiori; rather, it i:ust prcvlde theopporturuLtJr for obtalnir:g a bcttcr laio',rlJ(gc of the n;,tr.rral rcs.ure.s of thc areasilHfljrff $If l-ntc accowrt their splciric r;r;;;-(u"i"n*ation, rcrtility for the oeoncnlc d.errolopnrxt of the zotres fueed flonaccepted nethoilology. 4- Thc studir of soil suitablrity which vras entmstedAgri-cultulal soiL sei.ence roboratoryr hs been fi:rishedby a nap-printirrg problen. The teledetection !tudy, financed.by USTIID, is to cover the Upper yo1ta,Ghana and the Peoplets Repubiic of Benin. [he contr.actor is the T,4.1[s-EARTHSITconsortiun l'rhich Iai:nched its operation on 15 April. tvo problens arise, -the appointncnt of Benin countcrparts and the #ea to bc covered.. The procedr:re for appointjrlq the cotn:tezpart is under r,vay a::d. r,vilL becorpletecl in the near future. As for the arei to be covered. the AfricanDcvelopnent Bank (-tae) which is the executirrg agency seleetecl oy Us,rll, hadcamled our reductlons nithout refercnce to ihe staies in g"rrurll and to thePeoplers Rspubl-i-c of Senj::. It wor:,Id. be desi-rable for a neetirg to take placebetween the eountries concerned (upper volta, Ghara, 8""x.)-ooa-uslm to detern:inethe eontractual obligaticns of each slde and also avoid the ADB convertjhgttsele lnto a declslon-taki4g rather th:n an executing agency. [he social an4econonlc strrd.ies, whlch vrll1 thus be fj.:eanced by usr,r,6, ,iitt"iast 23 nonthsat a provisiorral cost of $B75rooo. trhon the starring ioint of rnievr they will usethe serriees of: Ot the Anerican sfuIc: On the Bcnin side; to thc N-ational but j.s beir:g heJ-d up 1 sociologist 1 agricultural econorrtst 2 counterpart regional supe::rrlsors 1 agricultr:ral econorrl st1 statistlcian 1 livestoclc expert 1 pedically-qualified eplderrlologist 1 :r:ral- education speeialist 1 water and forest spcci.alist 1 fj-sheriesspecj.alist 1 adn'inlgf,ratlve attacird for liaison vrork2 superrlsors l- btJ.i-ngual. secretary 15 statistical clerks 5 drivers 2 typlsts 100 j.nvestigatcrrs. The seconcl phase, 1.c. tire preparation of a Io-year developnent, has notyet been cor-'rrsps"6 i:: vievr of the aeray l''rith ihe dat,r ra.nt<. lfevertheless, certainactlvitles such a9 tl.e 63swJrg{rp of ?-naster plan for the developnent of theIflger basin doubtlese represent -ontri-butary ii;ttatives. -The third phase which consists jn d.rairing-+rp specific projects rnrst beeonsldered fron trro rriem?oj::ts: ths ;nplerrunLtion, trrrirrg-inio accoupt thefr.rnds ($zzorooo) o=i:q'ry i[" irJ"]a diqTfir^ed.i-crte projects aud thcperfornance of feasibi-lity stud"ies. rn re!"ra to the foztrer the centres forRqsional lctivlties of Rural Devclopnent (6.tsDrri) -r-tir"-;;;"j.";r" of Atakoraard' Borgou are fin.istri.ng drafting projects which r,vj.rl be put for,vard r,vlth arriew to usi::g the World Baxtk allocc.tions. In the second case the noney releasedby UNDP/Fi!O not filarciJ:g the social and econor::ic studies now entrusted to USAIDcan be al.lotted to-the ca:rlriag-out :rf feasibj_Iit;r studies: l case aif,orlg ne.nJr isertension of the^rice-grorvirrg area at Lfa].afiri1le which can be jrrcrcased. fron 516hectares 1s 3'OOO hectarcs for rn,lticropn.ing. 5- [he Benln ]Iational Cornrittee for Onchocerciasis la subr.tttixg to you its pr:ogress report ls fu1ly aware thst it is a thin one. [he CorrrJttee is eonvfuoed. that lt vrlll be abLe to report nore positivo results 1fr la tJ:e course of the uonths, 1t ls enabled to gaia the benefit of the experience accumurlatecl ln each of our cornkies, for fron the very beglrrring what'we have alwaysgrfferetl fron has been the lack of pe]saJaent corrm.mication. YIe hope that our neetrn€ wiIL enable us to fj.:rd. vrays of "11svlaf,jng thatsltuation. fire thar:k you for hearing us out so attentively. STAlEilif,ilT 3Y IiII GIiAITJi DilIilG,iflO$ IC IIil ZfD AIII'IUA.I, ]'HEIBTG 0-r tiffi N/rTIolil I orlcHocEqQi4lI! coi[4lrrES. CCI]0'ISI r ffiNl]tr, -t :-e.{m_rgzs I'tr. Cku[:mem, Idr. Director of the ?rograFmer }lstd-neulshed Delegates, T'adles antL Gentlenen, I an going to be brief with t}rls accoLint of the actirrities of the Gi:ana I{ational Onchocerciasis Comslttee duri-:rg the past 12 months. Hovreverrbefore telllng you abort the activities of my- Cormrittee, I rrish to thamk the Govenrment and. people of -i;he Popr.rlar Republlc of Senin for nraklng it possible for us to meet here in Cotonou. I also rryj-sh to e.rqlress ny thanks to liir. Bazj:n.l the ?rograr,rme Dj-rectoq and al.so to kr-{-s sta^ff for the enonaous amount of vrork done ln preparation for thi-s meetlng.. fhe first }Tational Coumi-tteesl meeting in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, afforded all sf us a great opportu:r:lty for the exchangc of ideas and thoughts fbr'the benefi-t of the Prograrrms whlch is dear to al]- of us anC to our p6op1es, I hope that this second- roeetf:rg wiIL also be as successfirL as the first;' firom our point of rrienr there .i-s nsthtns realJ-y tlrarnatic or esso:td-a[y speclfic to talk about with respect to the actlrrities of the Ghana l{ational Onchocercla.gis Cornrni ttee. The Cormlttee has carried. on vl.ith disq.rssions of subjects of interest to the Cormn:itteer Yery soon after the Abid.jan neet:-ng, the Gh:rna bmittuerin association w:tth the ';,'est Afrtcan CoIIege of 'Plqysiciansr held a worhbop ln Aecra on the Onchocerciasis Control lrograme.' /.t thls worlchop the OCP Direciorate and sta,ff partlcipated f\rIIy and. actlvely. I nant here to express on behak of nyself and the Glrana Chapter of the CoILege ny sincere gratltud.e to I,{t. BaqJn end. bis staffffihelr contribution to the successft:i otrtcone of the workshopr Concenei-ng the subj ects dlsctwsoil by our Comrlttce ore that readily coraes to ml-na is the one tlen]ing with rehabi-Lltation-of tire blind ln the onchocerciasis E^rB&r It rvas 3sn'li5gd cluring the aisbussj.<ns that e nr.mber"of Govemment afiencies and. prtvate associ.atlons are aIL d6lng sonetiring about b1fud rehebilitation. Iho ComC-ttee therefore decided to hpLd. a meeting of a'll these bodies so as tD coortlnate our actlv:lties and C.ecide on prC-ority ac'bionr Another subject too rvirlclr,the.Comrlttee devoted attentlon to is tire questiolx of chenical monitoring of the ri-vers for Abate end the possibility of the long-te:ror de].etcrlous effect of the chdn'i caf. on river life and actirritles. Ou.r d:lscussions vrer€rhcr.rever, j-nconclusive in the absenee of factua-l infornation m cheri,i caI aira-Iysi-s of the i:Lver vraJers afi;er Abate has bcen applieri to the rirers. The Ghcrra Nati.ona-l Cornm{f,1s" woul-d be rrost gratefril for any info:mation ,rr/.." -2- on thls strbj ect fron the OCP Directorate md, fron other partlcipants ir: thc Programe, Hea1th d.evelopraents in t}:e onchoceuoiod.s area in Ghana, rrlrich comprtses tlne 2 regionq Nbrthern snd Upper, coeti;:ues to be und.er the plens of tfre lfi:utstry of I{eaLth. Prorision is r,mde for the rlc}j-very of prine':ry health care to as rmch of the po:ruJ-ation in 'bhe ares es possiblcs fhe constraints to tirls action of the iTi:ristry aie the'usuaI ones, naiaely kclr of the regources of noney, materials and uao*po\rcrr Therefore r:ot all the people of thc area are reaaify coverecL by the avai1.abJ-e heaJ-th facillties. ihe-Governaentrboweverrls pressl::g wlth its endeavours -bo ach.icve t}::ls goa1. ilea-lth probleus'continue to be the sane and are due na:i::Iy to tire eonstrai.::ts ncntioned above, Spccificnlly, the qucstions of poor nutrition, scfu1;tosouiasis ond trypar:.osoniasis reruuin vl"itb usl cu:d thc l\Hr:lstry ls vror]dr.g against thcse with the nreagrc resources at'its d.ioirosal. the lllfD? }:as irv:Lted' the Ghana Gsrer::.acnt to partiej-pate in a 5-Xeor stur).y progranme in the control of trypanosouiasis in the onchocerciasis &reoo [he Canad.ian Govcn:iiont t]:rough CDA is prorricl-rng water supply for the Upper Regiou and <liscussions cre und.c:rvay to extend thc fr:cility to the Itrorthern Bcgion. The }H-nistry of Eealth is n.'lso hryj.:rg serious dlscussions v'rith CID.I and the cirril Ihrgineering Dcpartnent of the un:ivcrsit;r of science and Teclr:o1ogf, I(l]lre,sl, to build a nraJ. sarLltatlcn conponcnt into thc riraier Brogl?nne. Iroposa-Is have been suM.t-ted to the Gcrver::ment, and rre !.ri11 rcport on its progtress at the next raeeti:rg of thc I'Iational fu.chocerciasj.s COrnnlttecS. I/hen we tuzn to the socio-ecor:.onlc develop-ilent side of our worlcr I as happy to state that the ltrational Orchoccrciasis Comrittec ls about to eubark on specific soclo-econonic stud.ies as a tlecessaqr 1:rc*requisitc for the pireparatlon of viable d.evelopnent plans for tl:e ottchocerciasis freecl &Reo,s1 Ihl6 has been mad.e possi.b).e by the ap,,ointncnt of a develonnent plannlng co-ordinator to my secretanlat, The appoui.ntnent has bcc'n nrcde u:rder the auspices of the Wor1d. SDnk anrl the IirO, Thc officer is.tlue to assui!.e duty on the 24th of this nqnth" The other actlvity in suppcrrt of tire socj,o--eco:orric clevelopneat of the oechocerciasis areas is the coxrurcu.c€Elent o:' -b].e ]and-"ea&ftltestud'ies by an Aarerican fi:m under the ausryrtces of the Africa.^i)evelopment Bank with the sqpporb of finnnce by USMD. It ls the h.ope of sur Connrittee that these etud.:Les vnl}l l-eatt to tlrc preparatlon of dercJ.opment plans the effectlve tmplenmtatlon of rvhich wiIL bring specific beneflts to our peoples. lad'ies and gentleuren, thls is a sumuary of tbe actirrities of the Ghena Comltbee,'for the past yearr aird f thanlc you for your pati.encc in lLstenirr€ to ne. fhnnft y6rq. CoL. Asefll-Acljare SETOiYD },METn[G COI",I,IITTMS FOR OI TITE IIATIOITAI OI'ICI{OCNRC]ASIS coTols0u, ACITVIIIES OF TI{E COI,ffIfTM FOR ]978 fYOi?Y COASI ItTAtIONri.l ONCHOCERCIJSIS 6-B*JUNE by xB F, Sm,m, INSPECTOR-GENmtI FOR ]{EAtl[I D:e Onchoeereiasis ControL Programme ln the Ivory Coast, aLthough plaeed under the superrislon of the lllnister of llealthy ls i:: reality rlepend.ent on the lJinlstry of the Econoroy, Finanee and Plan jnsofar as the Ivory Coast considers this campai*gn as one for d.evelopment and., as such, formtng part of ttre actirritles of the Rr.rra1 Dsvelopment Board.. Yotr w111 tued.erstand, ladies ard.gentlemen, why several bodies are j.rrvolved tn the Onchocerclasis Conf,rol ?rogra:me: Offlce Nati-ona1 Ce D6veloppement Rural Conit6s Nationaux de D6veloppenent : ;:ffi;;:";':Hi::,::":,a,ima'ii'n F Coupe lrlatj-ona1e de D6veloppement Coupe N'ationale du Progrbs Office National de Promotlon Rurale. Because of this, the activ:Ltles of the Ivory Coast National Csmmif,f,ss fsr Onehocerciasis are restricted and of a purely advlsory nature. The Conrmitteels role ls confined. to the coordination of everyH:ing that has to do with the Progra.Me. Consequentlyr apart from the progregs reports on the Onchocerclasls Proppamrre which the ConrnrJttee s:pplies regUlarly to its members, it has not undertaken many activlties since the last meetjag i:e Abidjan. It has concentrated partieularly on pl?eparing the baelrground. irrformation on the extension area. Or.r Conmlttee has he].d four najor meetings i-n connection with the ltlorld. Bank Econon'ic,Yission. *[rst neetine: 27 Jaruarr,_1973- Report on the Conferenee of the Jojnt Coord.inatlng Conm:ittee of the hograrryne, heltl in Kuwait" Preparation of the progra.nnne for the visit of the 9or1d Bank Econom:ic I,{ission. Second meetine: 28 Januarv 1973 Dlscussion of the prograrmle for the lij.ssionrs visit. The Corudttee proposed the followi::g tinetable: 4 ald 5 February: Contacts betnveen the l,{j.ssion and ttre experts of the i.ii:rLstry of the EcsnonJr, Finance and ?1an as the development programresfor the Northern and Northvrestern regions. 6 Feb:ruary: Contacts between the llisslon and the technical ministries: Agrieulture, Livestock Production, \rfater arC. Forestry, Public Health, Barrd.ama Va11ey Authority. 2- 7. Bo 9 and 10 February:_ Vislt to the prograrnme zoii€r vlsit to ttGffi(rice.grovring near Korhogo ) Ferke sugar complex ?a16 agricrrltural and livestock-rearirg zone 3a6oud valley: possibili'bies of developirg the Korhogo eashew-nut plantatlons st"tu vegetable grovrirg companJi at Sinenatjall, near FerEe (sOonrlff,) State company for the e:ctension of Sebu reari.ng (SIODEIRA):.programre of ind.ustrial fattening Yisit to a Progralxme extension area: Sorotou sugar conplex. ftrird and For:rth meetings: 5 and 11 -qebruary 197i1 Contacts between Llission members and the l{ational Onchocercio.sls Comittee: impressions of themembers of the Economic l,tission on ttre visit to the Progra.nure zones and the octension area. The lTorld. Bapk Xconomic Mission was 1ed. by l{r Berg. ftre \'1t ssionl s conclusions reeardiJ.le this visit tr'lrst impressi-on: The Sreat extent of the economic actirrity in the north of the lvory Coast as well as the pubJ-ic and private efforts demonstrated by the figrres. There have been nrtrerous construction projeets, even in the remotest viI1ages. likewise, there have been numerous. enpeerdnerts w:Lt'h new" pJ.antrngs by SODEFEI (tomatoes, vegetables, rice, etc.); the North is a real laboratory for the country as a whole. Second impression: flhe rvay in trhi-ch the fvory Coast has lntegrated onchoeerclasis control- in a general flamev-',,ork in order to ricl t'lre sarranna zones of the disease. It is clear that the Ivory Coast Government has taken thls problem seriously; 5rrdeed., our corrntry Laurched. onchocereiasis control on its own j.:: 1965 ard* for over ten years undertook surveys and. experLnents in thts dlreotion. trlxbd iu re5sio4: Blackfly are lroldjng up the econom:lc Sorotou (arr'as yet untreated zone) because of the problem of development of reir:festation by other blac1Cly com:ing from the Republic of Guinea, [hese 'impressions of the \7or1d -tsank Economic I'lission requirs n6 s6nmsnf, and. refLect the importance the fvory Coast Government attaches to the Prograrome zolte. &onomlc Deve l_o-pment : h Jtme 1977 the flrst meeting of the National ConrrnitLgg for Onchocerciasis afford.ed the Ivory Coast delegation an opportunity of giving a broad piefire of, and progress report on, soeial and econom:lc'clevelopnent jn onchocereiasis.if:need. regions and i.:r tlre Progran:ne extension &re&o ftris present paper therefore sets out merely to bring the prerrious one up to date by revlsing the project llst and. abore all setting forth the naln li.::es aLong whieh the Government plans to act. PBOGRESS REORI ON DEtrrELOiTimC[! OPI{I,'.IIOFS n'T I]h, OIICHOCffiCLISIS PROGRli']t{E ZOIIE -5- lhe L977 paper stressed the followi-r:g trend.s: - Ie tJ:e production sectors: Incrijase in the number of sectoral operations ln the sphere of agrlculture and stock-ralsirg, rougkrf.y slnce L970. CIE::ge ln the stzes of the projectsz which'have increased from a few score hectares to senreral hrrndred or serreral thousand. Neecl to coordinate all the activities of the pri.nary sector, if onJ.y to avoid d,angerous competltion for nanpower, land and. water. A wish to promots fami]y or v:L11age-scale enterprises, industrial farmir:g areas belng kept at the minial.rm lrecessary to ensure profitable ruxnfuig of t5efactories. A wish to bri:cg jacome per head. ii: the savanna regions up to that attainedln the forest zone. , Reco8nitlon by the State.of the need to act Lndlrectly through lncentives(prices, lnfrasbnrcture, etc.) rather than dlrect by assuloj.ng reslonslbillty forall procluction. I:r the soctal sector: fhe launch:ing of a.u,bitious prograrurres clesi[ned. to prwj.de the whole country v'rlth basic economic and. social i.nfrastructures. I'hese progralmes v,/ere either regional, ljfte those conceryred with national educatlon and public health (as part-of.the emergency prograrmrcs or the i.ndependence eelebrations)'or r:ational (water, road.s, rurar trracks, rrrnal electri-flcation, etc. ) fhe trend.s were part of a continous evoluti-on that took into account thepossibili-ties, the need.s, and. the nishes of the people. The'past year has confimed these trends as a whole and n:rde them nore cleareut. The reforms 6f admJnistrative str"uctr:re clecided. upon on 2O July 197? relatepri.nariJ-y to ttre integratlon of d.evelopment activitles: The Goverr:ment has undertaken to replace certain sectoral development conpanles and to coordir:ate'elll- those that rernain lnto ttrree g6ographically based development corporatlons^ one for the eoastal region (soutrr), one-for thl forest regioi ("""tru);d-;;;'for the savanna. It is this last that will be the competent authority for theagrleulfirral projects dravrn up vritirh the frarnelirork of the OeehocerciaslsProgra.me (except as regard.s 3ouaf,l_6 Departnoent, vrhich comes under thedevelopment corporation for the centre). -4- Ttre need to encourage famlly fa:ms as a priority has been emphasized.l particularly by the deferment or staggering of some industrial farlo:ing projects. I::centive poli-cies, especially through prices, have been of vrid.er scope anal new measures are being considered rirlth a'view to sipplementirrg then (establlsh- ment of eollectlon and. ma.rketing bod.ies). Support. or even a guarantee, of a6ricultgral incomes in the savanna regions, is gr5d.ua11y'being introduced. along the lines that have been so successfuL in the forest zoYrao It lvoulci natr.rally talce a great deal of space to d.escribe aIL the measures for the'applicatlon of these poli-ciesl since the products of the savan::a q8e verTr dllverse, -nfr" prepond.erance of i::come d.raiur firon the sale of food crops makes State inte:srention a particuS.arly delieate matter. At the noment it is less dif'ficult to draw up progra$nes in the social sector. Apart from the eaergency progralmes, the present phase of which ls coupleted, natlonal nini-mim equlpment progralmes have been d.esigned, for rnedlum- tern lmplementrtion (fggO-lgS5): this applles to the subprefecture nrral vrater or eleetrtfj-cation schlmes.- ieyond. those dates 1t urtll be necessary (ana stuclles are already r:nder way ln preparation for the next Five-tear Plsn) to reclefine the prtorities ln an almost urlimited Ij-st of equipment. lhese redefj.:ritlons and the gradlral taki-ng-over of the decisions (and. the i-nvestments) Uy the l-nhab1tc,.nts of the'regions concerned i-F1y speedler tlecentrall-zation astl trd.econcentratlontr. fhi.rt;' or so Ioca1 eomrrnltles were established. at the begiru:irg of 1978e sone ln the savanna zonei tJ:ey'are the first extrrerlmental. basis for the jntroduction of a systeuatic policy. (z) Ehe results Esti:rates are available of the net agriculfi.lral money lneome 9er head for eyery departmentr up to a:rd. includjrrg 1975. Such jncome increased between 1965 and :SZl ty iO to 2fl per annr m L real terms (constant francs). to give examples, it v,,as J:qg2) francs at Katiola but 53?50 francs,6t Korhogo(:.n tfre forest departnent of the Centre 1t was abcrut 50p00 francs). Tfre small- ness of the lnitial i.:econe ecplains il part these rapld, increasesi lt is nonetheless noteworttry that the rates of increase have gone up over the past for.lr ]regtrsr Overa}l lncomes (urban and rr.ual) are shovrirrg the same pattern of wolutlon as agricultural jJtcomes. Th.e info:mation available sholvs that progress has contlnued at the same rate sinee t975. Thuse cotton production, concentrated. mainly in the northwestern halJ of the savanna zone rose to tO2r00O tons in 1977-78 and a figure of IL0r000 tons is forecast for next year. (l) Bril:ging the onchoce.rciasis-freed zones irlto econom:ic use A disti::.ction sllould be drarm between 'Fno categories of areafrm wldch the disease has been eradlcated: on the one ha.nd the large valleys, not so long ago completely depopulated, and. oT the other certajr: inhabited plateau regions with a moru oi less uniform prevalence of onchoeereiSsis (a u.rltitud.e of smal] Si-umr1ir.m breedirrg sites; e,g. I(atioJ-a Departmrent). .../... *5 - Economic exploltation of the Large va]-le;rs has been spectaeular here and tlrere (cf. sr.l€ar projeets, f:rult and vegetabllsp rlce). 'The large-scaLe proJects have been eontinuing satidactorily duqjJrg the past /earr Stoppage of thetrrlgated. rice programe ln the Norttr (reorganization of the means of latervention) ls provi-sionaI. Spontaneous settlement ln certain enpty arBas has oontlnued^ (eonnuence of the Bou and the Banctaae), until such tj-rne as thg salranna development corporation can put into general applicatlon tJre settlenent experLurents camted out j:r prevlous years on the Bou, the Solonogou, etc. In tJre List attached it vrj'I,I be seen that the eastern savannas are hav:irrg the beneflt of an integrated operatlon tbat includes some onchocerciasis-f?eetl zoheso As for the zone alread.y inlrabited, thelr exploS.tation isj and rvi-].I continue to be1 on a mrch more scatterod. ancl hence srmal]s3-scale basts. fhe best encotEa,sernent to progress tJrere, apart from a ferv suaLl lrrigated.-rice projects, wtlL be extenslon of rai.ny-seaacn erops as a resu-lt of the niral tracl< progrAr,mes and the effective applice,tion of the offj.cial prices. The increase ln the sales of food. crops in the southern borders of I(orhogo Department bears v,r"itness to tJrls. Iand is thus continuins to be brought into economic use despite the absence of, specific operations. Hgal,th Developnent tn the. hchocergiasis Zones flr.e Ivory Coast zone of the Qnchoocrejasls Coetr6l Erograme covers 9territori.aI departnents, containir€ 45 subprefectrres. f,he zone possesses: - 70 health oentresl soue vrith a nrral naternlty horae attached - ? ttepartment hospitals - 1 regionaL hospital vrith lOo bed.s (at Idorhogo) - 5 bases for ruraL med,iclne or mobile medlcine sectors 2OO mobile units for extended vaccj:ratj-on also operate J:r the zone. The varlous SODESUCRE schemes (Sertce I and. II, Borotou, Marabad,iassa, Zuenoula, etc.)e vrhich empIof, L2 OoO persons fn th; Prograu;e zone have oceupatlonal physicia,ns v,rorking for them. SUMMARY IABTJE Deoarfuent - ODIEI,INE Ioftioco SEEI{ESSEDOUGOU BOINIDIAIl BOIIDOIIKOU I,Io. of Subprefecttrres 15 Health faciLitles 12 health centres 1n subprefecfi:res B nrnL naternitY homes Towr of Odier:ne I Department HosPlta3- I Base for a M6ffiLe Medical Teau 5 health centres in the subpnefectures 5 nrrat naternity homes Tomr of Korhoso 1 Regional Ilospitaf (lOo beds) 1 Base for a Moblle Metlical- Eea,n 4 health centres 4 ruraI roatenrity homes loum of tr'erlcessedougou I third-categoqf hosPital ; na t err:i ty #md i.nlfld/9ld$#entpttwtt warcls 1 A.nerican hospitaL with aIl, serrices 4 health centres 4 rura} naternity homes Town of Boundlali 1 complete Deparfoient Hospltal. 1 Sase f6r a MobiLe LledicaL tsea.lr l-0 health centres 6 ruxal nate::uity homes Tourn of Bondoukou I Department Hospital L Urban Dispensary 1 Base for a &rral Medical lean 6 Departmeat BOUNA KATIOIA -2- No of subprefeetures 2 1 1 Hea1th faclLlties health centre r:uE1 matexnlry hone 2 health centres 2 n:::a1 matenrity homes Torvn of Kati-o1a Departnent Hospital(naternity home, medical and surgical rlarcls) Base for a L[obi].e Metllcal [ea,n(under constnrction) DABIKALA 2 health centres Towr of Dabalela I Deparfuent Hospital HEALTE PBOBT,UIS IN ffIE EXIENSION ABEA The extension area involves ttre follourir:g te:ritorial deparfuents : TOIIBA ffiGUEI,A. DANAI{E MA}I BOI]AI'IJE DIVO GAGNOA BOUAICE GUISL0 DIMBOKRO DAIO./I, ancl part of SASSANDBA The area is clensely se:rred by nr.merous heaLth faciLlties. Maqy vlllages and all the basic territorial adlrlnistrative divisions possess some sor-t oi heaLth faci1lty. the prefecture capltals each contain a Departnent Hospital and a base of the &rra1 Llediclne $ector. -7- CONCIUSION The Onchocerciasis Progra,me colncided in the lvory Coast with the tour of the north of the country by President Houphouet-3oigny, a tour durrng nr?rioh the generaL public and leacllag staff in the region subnittett complaints regarding economlc and social developnent. Nr:nerous agriculturale industrial and social projects granted by the PreEltlent have now been completed or are in course of conpletion. However, the success of these vast economic schenes, the cost of wtrich 1s estlmated at oeve::a} thousand mi}llon Crlit francs, u,as made possible by the success of the blac}f,ly control- campalgn. For that reason my cormtry is ready for any ngterlal or financlal sacrifice that vrlI1 ensure that this economlcally denuded zone becomes tomorrow an lrrmense gxanAly for the IVory Coast. NATIO}IAI COIIMITTDDS FOR O]'ICHOCH?CIAS]S Second. neetir:g Cotonou. 6-8 June 1978 I. AGRICIIT,TUT?N fhe nr.mber of agro-industriailn process of constrrrction is'six. site has not yet been decided,. -EC*0lL0I,!rc pRoBriil[g_]N TE pRocllArmm zoNE rN wo]ly coAsl SUGiLrt PI?OJXCTS The most inportant e'vent since last year is the establishnent, now in progressof the regional developnent conrFanj.es. The task of the one for the savanna is toplan and carrXr out aIl- operations concerning agriculture, whether new or o1d, andto integrate them vrith each other and. with ihe-related sectors of l-ivestocli-rearing and. forestry. Several new operations vriI1 integrate the existing sectoral operations. This will apply particularly to tl:e operation for the i:rtegrated. developnentof the East.Region salrann;us, whlch has been under stud.y for several years urr& fo"which finance was found fron t.re IB?,D, tl.re Consei1 cie 1rD:tente and USAID at theend of 1977. It will cover the clepartnents of Bour.a and Bondoukou with a vievr topronotirrg new crops (groundnuts) there and developing the export of food crops.It r'viIl- soon affect the majority of the populatioi.. -tt rrriil'1-ca1J-y integratestock-raising, imigated. rice-grovring or forestry projects. During the coatngyear, it vril1 be very interesting to neasure the inpact of the oCp on this veiy c ou.prehensive progra.mrae. the -cgtton:growins depart it is probable, althor.igh the studies have notJret been completecl, that an opiratioilon ,r, eve., greater scale r,ri11 fo11ow up thef974-1979 integrated progranr",,e ttintegrated developlrent of 6re savanna ,"gion's,t.It may be recalled t!1t this operation vras concerned with the departnents of Fs3k{,Korhogo, Boundiali, S6gu61a, Ifutio1a, ltrorth Bouafl6r Dabahalar-Oa:.er:n6anclBoualc6 and that it has sr-rcceed'ed in doubling cotton production while integratir:g it rviththe growing of food crops. i{ere agii.n, it vritl be important to integrate ia thenew operation the developirent of the nalleys fron which onchocerciasis has beenerad.icated,, rt sliould be noted that irrporiant local p"o;u"i"-(116o6, upperSsnflema and Bou va1leys, etc.) have alreadyprovided the begir:nings of a soluationfor this integrated. cleve1opil€rltr conplexes for sugar alread.y A seventh project has been conpleted or stillmooted but the Site Ferk6 I 3erlr6 II Borotou Serebou I(atiola Zu6noula Date of launchlng l975 Decenber 1978 Dece.aber 197B Deceuber 1978 Decenber 1979 Decenber 1979 Prod.uction of white sr.rgar(tons ) 60r 000 60,0oo 45r ooo 5Or 0OO 50, ooo 42r5Oo Staff 4r ooo Srooo 2,000 lr 5oO 2rOOO 2rOO0 The investm.ents in tl:e ! new complexes (excludlng Ferk6 I) amount to 242.OOO nillion CFl' francs. It is certaj-n that these sugar projects will have sn 'irrpactin the northern regions. flrey vrili nalre a restructuration possible and will produce a high rate of adcled yalue. T;..iE SOYA PROI]CT A project is being developed for the productj-on stage operatlon: production of seed. on the farms and Several farms are being set up; each unit will w1l-l cover 11 500 hectares. II. ITVDSIOCI{ RAIS]]TG of soya ln Ivory Coast. tho- peasant productlon. be completely mechanlzed and The develppnent of livestock-raisirrg i-n the lvory Coast has two mail long-temo obJectives - to red.uce neat i"{po-'ts ancl to attain by 1990 an annual meat consunptior- of 25 lg per ireacl. The activities described. j.n our statenent of 1977 before this sa:ne gathering are takir:g concrete form ancl opera.tions are being found to be better defined as a resurt of a series of irrpleinentati-on programnes and flre establishnent of upstream and. dorrnstrear:. support structr.ues. Cattle are being selected and bied on the Sipilou, Abokoua,m6leo and Maratrou6 ranches. ftrere are now l2r5o1, head.. The production of anlmal and poultry feecling-str:ffs is going to be developed,first at Bouak6 and ldorhogo, as well as Abidjan. A nairze silo of 12,OOO tonsr capacity is envisaged for Bouak6r Stylosanthes seed is being produced. at Badj-kaha und.er an agreement between the countries interested (which have shown scarcely any interest so far). -7- The gattle-fatteniryl station at Ferkess6clor.rgou has reached its operati-on leveI. At the present ti.lre 81000 head, are fattened with molasses and cottenseed, It G proposed, *o Ou*U a slau.lhterhouse 1n the u*u ,',rr"u. 0o irnfrove tl:e cat,tle of the savarura zorle, the Ivory Co'ast Goverrurent lar:nchecl in 1975 an operatj-on to provld.e support facilities for the rearing of non-d.rovlng cattle. lt covers IOO,OOO cattle and sorne of its main lines are the imFioveneni of natl:ra1 range, the control of straying, night pens, health facilltlest eti. thls carapaign is being'intensified and extended step by step to the whoLe country. The rate of eovera.ge attained in 1977 was 66% of the eensus herd. In the case of zebus, 9 receptlon zones (7OO to I'OOO hectares) have been pLa,rured, on which health, fod.der and. water pro[ira"f,mes are iJ} progress' fheseitnl""oronestr are j:r ad.dition to the agricultural--livestock-forestry development zones on the ?a116 (si-nce t9T6) and tte upper lolqpoho (projectecl). A tse-tse siryey is to be launched so as to better identify the zones that can be d.eveloped. lhe schene for the support and encour'agement of livestocl< fanrs in the Centre Province eovers the depar.tnents'of Bouakd, Katiola and Di-nbolro, it is to be extended to Daloa and Boncloukori. The cost of this project is evaluateti at 1,B0O million CFA francs for 197&81. It covers all tlpes of livestock-rearing and its ai.n is to increase'livestock numbers and above all to Juprove the operating balance of the stoclcaiser. Within the fra.nework of this scheme a census has recorded 42rOOO cattle, 20OrOOO sheep and 15OrO0O goats. Another important project is one for raising pigs at Dimbolco (doubling of pork productlon). In regard to poultry (eggsr ehicks, roastir,g fowl) mention should be madle of the operation i-n progress at Abldjan, which will be extended to Bouak6. III. FORDSIBY [he Ivory Coast Goverr:nent is lugently concerned to safeggarcl the forest stands ln the south which are novr the nain focus of ti-nber production. Tnrportant a.rcendments to the forestry regulatJ-ons $rere d.ecid.ed upon at the beginning of 1978 and. others are sti11 being consiclered.. In Ltay an Order set up a ?ermanent State Forest Douai.n that wiIL be practically untouchable, A minimum progra"lrne of 101000 hectares per anfllrrl of reafforestation vri1l be und.ertaken from this year onwarcts vrith a view to naintalning erploitable reserv'es at their present level. Ihese various ueasures apply primerily to the forest zoyLao However, the Pe:cmanent Douain comprises 1.7 miliion hectares of savanna forest ln add.ition to 5 milllon hectares of dense forest. This deci"ioa irnplies in particular theprotectlon of a larger mrs.ber of savanr:a forests not hlther to protected, parti-cularIy in the forest gallerie6 on the banks of the main watercourses ln the valleys freecl of onchocerciasis. -4- Ihe expLoitation of these savarlna forests has not yet been properly developecl.' fheir nrurber of exploitable species they contai.:: 1s certainly not negligible. Reafforestatlon will rapiclly become necessary but with d.iverse objectlves: supply of ttuirber to 1ocal sawnj.I1s, flrewood, plantation of teak and. cashevr-nut trees, etc. tlvo pilot erperiments are in progress near Korhogo and 0dienn6. IV. IISi-If,,]I]rlS f'5-shery and pisciculture are priority operatio;rs 5l regions rrritl: aprotein defielt. Several schemes are irr progress: extension vrork anong fisherroen on hydroagricultural impoundment areas and pilot fish-farms (I:n6 ancl }latiokobadara). Another scheme at present under stutly worild't::ain and support fishe:men on reaches of the Sandama, Sassandra and Como6. This then would be an j:nmediate d.evelopment after eradication. V. PRTSEiIT STATUS A]ID PROSPECTS OF II]DUSTRIAIIZATIOIf I1{ [T{E OIICJ]OCMCIASIS 1. ?resent slEratio& Among the industries established in the zone concer::ed. gV, are for processing natural- resources (primari.ly cotton processing and fa:oi:rg/ food industries, while the rest consist mainly of industrial bakeries and garages. Geog::aphical Distribution of Industrial l?orkers llegion ISorth &st tlrest Centre Centre-lYest Southwest South Abidjan lotal lfi;nber of workers 1r7oo 110 860 Br 760 5 t67O 5 r77O 5r77O 27 r+4Q 5A1960 Percentage of the. total 7.27 o.2L 1.6 16.8 7 7.18 11' 52.8 Industrial jobs in the onchocerciasls zone 1r 7oo 110 10 Br760 2r45O Iuo 1r rB1o It would thus appear that 26.5% of industrial employees work i:: the onchoeerciasis treatment ar:.d extenslon zone. 2. ?rosDects a) Inclustrial Proiects Inclustrial projects being propose<l would create by f9gO about 5rOOO jobs in the zone concerned (textiles and fa:ming,/tood. inclustrj.es, exelud.ing the i:rdustrial bakeries and ga::ages). -5- ProJects ldentified Coffee huskturg $.rgar eomplexes Textiles Tarrning Canni.:ng factories P.ice husking i4looden posts Teasts lllaize processing IIo. of jobs envisaAed 150 2rloo 1r 865 200 600 60 5O 5o 5O Total 5rA25 b) S:ma1l al:d. med.j-i.:m-size undertalrings With the establ-ishment of i-mportant rnachi-nery for the promotion of regioroal development over !O snaI1 and medium-size undertalcir:gs might be set up by 1982 in the 7 ??industrial- dornainsir of Korhogo; Od.ien:e6e Bondo:kou, S6gu61a, Bouak6e Yamoussokro and Dalea. 7. Reeionalization_o,f_the Investnent Code fhe new Investment Cocle now under study eould include three types of measure airned. at developing industrial activities in the interior: duration of exemption from ta:r on profits fron comercial i-mports gzaduated from 5 to 7 years accord.:lng to region exeurption from customs cluty on production equ:ipment for ertensions ln the interior bornrses for the creation of jobs, graduated accord.ing to reg'ion \rl. IARGE-SCAIE ECONCIyIlC il'IfRASTl?UCfiIRES The cl.ecisive infrastnrcture for the development of the savanna regions ls the roacls. ") Road.s Regional lsolation will come to an end in l!l! and 1980, ltre tarred. road from Bouak6 to Korhogo tr'erk6 has reached the vilJ-age of 3a&tkatra. fhe Ilan-0ctj-erur6 road has reached Biankorrna (earthnoutns conptetea as far as tbr:ba).' flhe strfacing of the Agrribil6]couJondoukou road is to be con'rmenced shortly. Ihe Da1eaJ6gu61a road, which is an wrsr.rfaced road, is belng strogthenecl. fhree nrral t::ack progr?a;trmes conceirr the savanna. Ihe emergency programne scheme is practically.finished. [he scheme for tracks in the eottonlgrowing'areas \tgll-tggl) was extended 1n Jarnrary 19?B and is now to cover 3r7OO fu.. Finally the national progra,unoe financed by the IBRD and coveri-ng about 5r0OO h. idll be spreacl over 1979-1981. It may be recalled that the objectlve of these progranmes is to senre a'11 f,hg peruar:ent rnlllages'and to nake the 7r5OO lcn of existing fi:acks p:cactieable i-n all seasons. -6- b) water lYre Prog::a:me National dlFqulpement Hydraulique, drawn up in 1977-1974, has been 1ittIe changed, except to extend lt. It involved the constmction of water-supply systems for all the zubprefectures (in"fraing the new ones established s:nce) ancl the provlsion of water-sr-rpp1y poi.:ets(springsl weI1s, boreholes) for all'villages with more than 1OO inhabitants(or 9r7oo neiv sr-r.pply points in all). As plan:red, this programme will be completed in the bavar:rra regions 1n l-98O. fn fact the lforth Region has been given priority. It should be noted that the new subprefectures are particularly numerousr so that the sa'ranna is j-n reality somewhat better served than was orpected. ") ELectrification ' Almost all the subprefectures now have their own Diesel leneratlngplants. However, only a very sua11 number of rrillages were servecl. fhe Ivory Coast Electricity.Corporation is financing the rural electrifj-cation progra;nme from charges (6oo nillions a year at present) and. nearness to hig}r- tension Ii:res is stil1 a decisive factor. It i-s plennett to construct two high-tension lines between Bouak6 and Ferkd-.Korhogo (tnis has been beeun) and from L'lan to 0dienn6. T.be 1977-A982 el,ectrlflcation programe then calls for the installation at 0dier,n6r Korhogo, Sound.iali and S6gu61a of rrspicle3tsdveb centresrr, 33 lN 1l-nes radj.ating from these would make it possible to serve most of the population. d) [ownJlar:::jrle [he i-ncreased ::ate of economic growth and equigment in the savanna regions is leading'to rapid growth of the towns (particularly at 3o.rak6e Korhogo and Ferk6). This ls creating massive needs for urban amenlties (cleansing sefrrices, housing, transport, sanltati-on, etc.)r neecls hitherto und.erestimated. A forthcorulng study wilJ. evaluate thej.r erbent wlth a view to malrtng 1.t possible to progrerune State invesfuents accrrately. SIALTSmSm 3Y Ufl, IXlESi.TfoI[ 0F ],AtI TO TIIE SECO}ID 1.,T,E[I]IG OF TTIE NAt IONAI C 0Il[riIT[FES FOIi ONCH0CIBCIA.S IS c03_0Nou. 0 _._g_{wE 1978 I. II{TRODUCTION 0n behalf of tbe Chai:cuan of the &Ia1l Natlonal Onchocerciasis Conmlttee, Lleutenant-Colonel tvflssa Kon6, Minister of ?ublic Health and Social fielfare of Ma1i., lrhose other conmitnents have unfortunately preventeal hirn aftendir:g, ancl on behalf of Ey delegation, I sbould like to convey to theRi€ht Honourable ffirrister of Publ-ic Health a":rd Soclal Y/elfere and. to the Gqrerrtment and people of the People,s Republic of Ber:ln our cord.ial thanks for the wa:m welcome extenclecl to my clelegation and myself. Our Natlonal Connittee Chairnan has also asked me to transmit to the Erecutive Direcor of the Progra.une and to the bonourable delegates of our sister csuntrles of lvory Coast, SenJ:e, Upper Vo1ta, Niger, Ghana and Togo our heartf,elt conpllments on the holdirrg of th:Ls second neetfurg wh:Lch is nolonger rerel-y a routine gatheri:cg but rather ar1 erpresslon of our cournon resolve to attaln coord,lnation and solidarity. II. H(TENSION Xfu Cbaitman, we wa:mrly welcone the gresence here'of:dul"gu,tions fuom thellepublic of Senegal and the Republic of Guinea and take prltte Jn recalfi-ng here illarlrs untirrng efforts to extend vecton control activif,ies to all the onchocerciasis foci of iTest Africa. Blacldly recogni.ae no state frontl_ers and. nove from one river basin to another wlthout seetdr:g perrrission. It wasfor Mall, as ttre ?rhingert Joinirrg desert ancl forest-savanna between Senegal and. Niger, to clraw the attention of the Orchocerclasls group to ttre tlarrger lnkrerent 1n the restrj-ction of the canpatga to the present. zone, whj-ch vroultl unfaali-:rg1y be lnracted. fron the neighbourlng onchocerclasls foci of Upper Senegal antt Upper Nfuer. ft was for that reason that the Republlc of L{alj. nade representations to j-ts slster republlcs of Senegal and-4uinea, ixvttir2g then to coubine thelr efforts wtth a rnlevr to brlng{ng onchoeerciasis under control,After UIaIL's intervention at the meeting or iuu Joint Coord.leatilg Co@ittee inKtnvai.t and on the JCCts recorrnrend.ation, a ueetlng of the tJ:ree Stites tookplace at Spllrako fron 20 to 22 }farch 1978 and subnitted to 1IIIIO bac]rgrorlndltlocunentation in support of a jolnf, ser,rpal€n to control onchocerclasls in the stlb-region. On this basls, 11tI0 asked Dr Le 3errel who has just nade a Jorrrneythrough the three States, to gattrer all the d.ata ivailable anA prepure ine prt;ect.\Te thiJ:k that a si.url1ar sttuation erists J:e regard to the onchocereiasis zonesin Nigeria, whose presence here vre welcoroe, irr rclation to the easterr:boundarles of the present programe zane. -2- lhls neetrrng provldes us wlttr an oppo?tullity of tlravrirag the attention of og sister countrles to the need. ln the present phase for lntense and. active solldarity, for an wrbreakable cohesion, so that the level of iaternational soJ;i.d- ariW enjoyed by or.rr $rb-reglon not only does not dixdnish but ralses ourflnanciaL resources to a leve1 thet wj.L1 meet our needs, ln the interest of aII our countrles : to avoid. the efforts alread.f aade beconrrng vaix or the restrlts already achieved being constantly calIed irr questj_on; to protect the hlunan potentJel of Upper Senegal, Upper l{:6er anct Ganbla,Rio Co:rubal; t to nake it easier to put to good. econom:ic use the inrmense a6rlcu1tura1,llvestock-rearlng, porer, inttustnj.al and. minlry resources of th1.s key zone - the process of regi.onal development of the resources has already been initiated antt the first regional prograrme, for which tenders are nowbe'lng sought, represents an anount of $550 m.llJ{pq tmo-tLirds of whlch has already been firrirnced. Although the subject of the launchirg of a separate onchocerciasj.s prograume to supplelrent the present prograrme, we are comrj-nced. that the expeilerrcegalned. wLLl nake lt posslble to put this second. progra.E:me quiclcly into effeet. Yfe wish to thanlq at this point, all those who have supportecl us ln thisactlfity, particularly the Independ.ent Chairman of the JCC, ih" hr""tor-Generalof YfIiO and the Regional Director of FftIo for the speed and ionpetence wlth which they have ber;rrn the compilation of the fire for the new prograom.. rrr. AClrVrlrxs 0r' TnE $ASTONAT ONCIrOC.,lRCriSrE COtfldrTlEE: . Ilithout golng into detal1, the lrlat:.ona1 Comi-ttee of/Mali, whi-ch brings together representatlves of the l,En:istries of ?1an, Rr:ral Deveiopnent, pubilcHealthr Ind.ustrial Developraent, Pr.rblic irlorks and t!.ansport, ttre hterior,Telecorunrnications and Info::oatlon of the Presid,entts bffice, is a r,n,ttifacetted. strrrcture whose e:cistence has prouoted rmch nore lsrtegrated approaehes to thefactors lnvolved in social and econon:lc development. - =- For exanple, nual developnent operations, erctenslve mrltipr.rpose projects such as the Selingu6 Da:n, etc. have all beneflied. froar the exl.slence of theNational Conmittec, in the sense that they have all speci.fically includ.ed heal-th and tralnS.:ag components, In brief, the nafur activlties of the I,IaIl Natlonal Cormittee are z - Close relaticnslulps vrith OCP through the \'/HO Bepresentative and the Djrectorof the OCP Sector at Samako anct the base sub-sectors in the i:eterior. Activlties connected wlth conslderation of the new prograrn'res contacts wlth Gulnea arrd^:Senega.r, organi-zation of the iatsr=IfiialsterialGuinea-Ifla]L-senegal .conference, gathe3ing of the baslc data,preparation of the request, reception of Dr le Berre, etc. 7- Eetablishrent and launch.i.ng of the ?lannlng Group for the areas freed froro onchocerciasis (UmpAAO project), use of t\mds fron the WorLd Bankfor econonic development studies jn the zone) first approaches for implenentation of the Lanct Use (Sateffite) Pro;ect, organization and. reception of the Berg nlssion of tl.re i7orLd. Bar:.k antl the m'lssion of the OCP Econonic Development Unit. heparati-on of a project to reduce cereal losses afterhagvest. Beginrr.ing of work on the gatherir:g of the basic data available concernlag the whole Orrchocerciasis zorre. Para1le1 with the d.eveloprnent of vector control neasures, experiments on nass treatment for _eye lesions (tnrowir ari.rn'inlstration of l{otezinein progresslve d.oses (one dose of 25qg per week in atiults)) *u befu:g conducted vrith the help of the.African Troplcal Ophthal.raology Instltute(rom). IV. EqON-OMIC DXIVEIOPMM{T OF OIM ONCIIOCTRCUISIS ZOIrE ff },[AII AT PP,ESEIIT BEING IREATM Idr Chairaan, the gnchocerciasis zone in lvlalL, at present being treatecl covers over a2Jro00 ka-, wlttr an annral raiafall rangixg flon 1r5oo m inthe south to 5OO lm in the nortJr; bord.erirrg on GuLnea i.::. the soutlsrrest, IvoryCoast ln the southr Upper Volta irr the sortheast and the Niger a:rd Bani ln tle nmth; lt takes ln also the Dogon pLateau at its eastern 6xt3smi f;r. lhe population of the zone at ttre last census was 2TOOOTOOO dlvlded befureen aloost ,rOOO villages. trbom the point of view of p\ysical geograp6y the bulk of the present onchoceelasls zone is macte up of the Sanl river basln and the part of the UpperNiger tbat lies 5ri [Ia11. Ilr contrast to the situation trrrevaj-llng in other countries, in Mal:[ the onchocerciasis valIeys. have nevcr been abanrloned. by their population. Ilurs, slnce iredependence the MaU. Goverement has depJ-oyed its greatest development efforts ln the soutJrern orechocerclasls zone, even before vector conhol operatlons were undertaken. I]x view of the pauclty of the economic lnfo:matj-on to be for.md in the 0G? reportr ItELy I venture, UIr President, to describe i-n broad. outli::e the calpatgns ca:rled. out in that zone, Otrer half the total l^nvestments mad.e jJl Ma1l dr:rin4g the past 1T years have been made ln the onchocerclasis zone. _Over 1r5O0 }on of roads have been tamed. fhe very best resrrlts 1nnral developnent wlth effective net'l:ods of usi:rg sfperrrisory staff, have been obtaj.::ed in growlng food crops (mlrtet, rice, naize)- and. lndustrlal' crops(cotton, grorndnuts and 6ah)r with the associ-ation of crop-groiv'ing and livestock-ratrngr general use of animal- traction, peasant cattle-fatteniag, zr.ral tracks, weI1s, and. rural cooperation. 4Ehe flrst efforts towards mjn:ing development were also nad.e jl the zone ia the shape of prospecti:trg for goId.. trast prograrsmes of water resource develop- nent have been launched. : preparation of ricelgrowing areas, hunan and anlrnal vrater supply, d.evelopment of wrdergrowld water and grorrnd water resources. [o confi-ne ourselves onl;r to the nain developnent scheraes in progress ln the zone, mention uay be mad.e of : (f) fhe site for the S6lir]€u6 hydro-electric water-J-Found.iag da.n on the Sanlraranil a 651000 nillion lnvestment thst w:111 have direct repercussions on the whole econo$y of the Niger vaIley in 1\1a1i by: greatly i.::creasin3 navigabiJity on 11 40O lor of the river ln ldal-l temitory; - rrellsing the irrigatfug eapacity of the river vrith a transition to tnvo crops-a yeax on IOTOOO heetares of Land already prepared.; - prottucing basie power, rvith 44e 00O h,r j:rstaIled capaclty, whj-ch shouLd. l-ead to a saving j-n fuel tnrportsi d.eveloping Lndustries on ti:e basis of the polyer, loca1 raw materials and Ma].lts hone msrket; establ-ishing a pernanent O.rlessdbougou-S61inepd roatl llrtk crossing theSankaranl on the crest of the d.an. $hlle the work is gofu6 fonvard., the Government is striving to solve the questi-on of the transfer of population and renoval of forest cover from the Lnqrountlir:g reselrvolr. (Z) Ihe Southern i/Iali i-::tegrated rural-.dcvelopnent project conprising cotton and. cereal growi4g, aniaal f,raction, rice:growing schemes, zura3. tracks, storehouses, ancl ar:xili.ary agricultrrral i.rnd.ustries, and involvirrg an lnvestnent of 22rO00 nj.I1i-on, to wirich a !1000 uillion investnent has had. to be recently added for a project to d.evelop livestoclc rearir:g, npkirg a total6f 51rOOO mi11ion. b) [he developnent of .a relatj-vely large gold deposit, vrlth a progra.rmec' ring for the i.:rvestment of IOrOOO mlllioni 5.OOO riftionsi worth of vrorkhas aJ.ready been carried. out. (+) Constructlon of a tar*ed road fron I',outia.la to Silcasso (UO for)fot 715iOO rilJ.ion. Tenclers have just been called for. G) T6s g{no-Dogon M:illet Developnent project, in progressl the t{xlatecl cost of achieving which requires an investnent of 9r2oo mi_llion. (a) several agro-industrlaL projects, including cotton-hul]ir:gfactories now belng bullt at DioIla and Bougounl, a rlcelgrov,ri:.g oorryfex at siJcasso, a cottonseed-oiI prant at ts'outiaIa, amowrtirrg 1c)-Ttaodnritlion; others are projected 1ilce thc srgar refj-nery at Ibtj-orouj-ba and. the sanni4gfactory at Si}asso. 5- h) An extensive public drinl-ring-!'ra.ter supply programp witb 21 500boreholes for the countr;' as a n:,oLe, abcut i::llf of tircm in the onchocerciaslszoae. tlr:is rviI1 enable a greai inproye:rent to be uarle 1n the heeJth statmsof the people by partl;, elir-lne.tir:61 r'rater-borne lnfectlons and wjLl relieve wonen fu nany eases of thc c-:.ore of camyi-r:.g v,rater. (e) Bre I'h1lan nod.el for develo;ling ;. zural treatti: systcu hgs nad.eilQortant progress. It is effee-bive ind inexpensive. Llorlovorl everyecononlc developneilt project conprises an iatlgrated. health conponent. (g ) Ihe teaching of firnctloi:aL literacy to adults in the natLor:alla4streges is d.evelopla.g r":rr1 shoni:4g its effeltivenees jJl the se:rrice ofeconolrio developaent. It enjo}.s great popularity. I"b. Chairman, cnchocerciasis control arust find its justiflcation in -econor:lc cleveloprrent. Despite previoirs alrpearances, appearanees due to ourlaak of i:rforga.tion 1n respect of il:u progirrtrs. Mali is one of the ocrcountries that is u-rkir41 the .c;re;.tcst cffdrts :i its onchocerciasj.s zone andis firnly resolvecl.to-speed..up uris process jn the fufir::e, bog.: in thesorti:ern oncLrocerclasj-s ,one nol'r bceng treatcd ancl i.n the as yet urtrestedwegtern onchocerciasis zone. This indi-cates the trcnenCous i-arportance of oCP,s nctlvities for the :::"oTy gf .Jht, even lf tl,jltf,icurtles d,o exlst' jrr neasrrrlng t]:e economtcrr,p.:ct of the Orchocenciasj_s Cor:trol ?asgramls. V. q1X/DLL)PUIli,l' OF _?iDi,r-C-iir- -Li;I .'i0lll,rl!I,,lli tra thc -sphe:'e of public he..ltir it was i^n the present oop zone thatr{a1l began in 1959 to c'l.everop t,re ;.:ractJ.ce of pri,,ary hLdth care, thuspIa;.iag a pioneerin-3 role ir ti:e ru:ttcr. H:is systen works verJr ryeIl, to theextent that ou.r s\'rlss partr:ers are prorrid.i;:,g considerable rinanliar sqBportto lrtensify 1t by equi.pptr4...; ne-le1 uaternit! bomes and. rrral dlspensaries andestabllshj.ng village ph.ar::r..cies. I,,{oreovere al.l nrralhealth end. ani:ri;l healU.:. d.evelopment operatlons have to i.nclude a human corponent. f:e Department for Control of tne }Iajor -r,,bir:lie.Diseases ls beirrgstren6t-:enert through bilaternl assistance (i....1c; IFp). -C;;Joe covera6eof leprosy and trpanosou:iasis is e::su.red in the ocrr'ror.".---:ir*l are atpresent lsirrg conc.u-eted reSard.i;1g schistosotd-asis. ;'^ctive irnnnrniar6!f6p car4nl,5:rs are in pro{resB'tlrrou3lout Liali agaL::st puLnonary tuberculosis,measles and polionyeli.tls. I'iodernization of tire i.realtii centres l:.^.s begrrn ancl ls beir:g aetivelypurored, '{' }tritraqulne campaign is bein6 conclueted rvith tire help of gre:ruralconmultles and the lvIall ltrationaI union of women. 6- lhe Departmrent for the Control of the I'{ajor E):d.euic Diseases and. thei\f,rica.n L:nstitute of tbopical OphthaSmology (OcCeC) have undertatren a nass campaign at Sagujined.a (prevention of complications ln cases of onchocerciasis throrigh the taklr:g of a progressive dose of 25 ry per week by adults). A31'"nsh-Malian projeet for the control of blindfug d.iseases is also inprogress; it works through the raajntenence i^n permanent activity of nobile ophtiralnologiea1 teemsr healti:. educatione case-flnding and. treatment of conjunctivitis, trachona and trj-chiasis, treafuent of the ocular couplications of measles and the selection of rnajor cases for a flyine tearir of ophthalmologists to go one week i-n six to operete (cataract). vr. rBArNIsg Ih' Chai::man, a recent vislt to I\[a11 of the Pro6lrar,:ne nirectorr L&'. Baz j-n, provided us'with valuable j.r:forruation on the training aspects. The Ulal-i National Cor.rm{ttee conslderir that training is an essenti.al factorin the sphere with nhlch we are concerned. It uakes available to us high-Ievel personnel, multlvalent and trained forttle soaf,rol of onchocerciasis ar:d other major vector-borne parasi-tic dlseases(oaIarla, tr;4panosoruiasrs ). ft ls indii4nrtable tJrat the present Prograrrae, which has acqu1red erperienee i.:a organizatlon, Eranagenent and. vector control, has become a flrst-'cIass il1stzLeent for nn''l tld.isctplinary trai-ning. ' It rvoulcl therefore aBpear ratlonal ei.nd. just that the d.evelopment agencies - F.L0, UIIDP - should.grant or ienew their financial support for the tra:atqg ""pu"tu of the?rogramne, A request to tlris effect c6uta be sent throq?:-otrr good oflticesto the Independ,ent Chair:un of the JCC. tr'or its own part ilIa1i would like to benefit fron the traln:ir:g of : t hyd,robiologisti I lchthyologist; 4 nedical entomology technicians. fhe present neetjrrg affords me an opirortunlty of inforuir:g yor that theAfli-can rnstitutc of fbopicar fuhtturnorosy (rour) at Bnmako alserts that lt can train operatiorral ophtha'lnolo_gists j-n onchocerciasls work jl a courseLa,stJrr€ 3-4 months. A course extended. to 7 nonths would gi.ve then an e:ccel-Ient mastery of the subject. III. IHE PBOGB,I],SM'S FUTTi}?E - COIfCIUSIONS ilIr' Chairman, i.:a respect of the present OCP zone we are reachinghc end of a phase of vector control and. the 6egi,,,ning of a phase designed: nai::tain the resu.lts obtained. jrr the fielci. 7At the same tjse, we have reached. a point at vrhich j-t j.s cssenttal-to und.ertake vector control in the foci {yir6 to .the east of the present 1or,i?.(Nieeri.a), to tlre vrest of the preseit ,one (upe." s"""er1;-upper Niger,Gambla and Cornrbal) ana to the "ouiL right up to lire bowraary'tetween theblaclcfly of the savanna and. those of the forest. While it is tn.e that the rates of economic developnent have not been as rapitl as those counted upon at the outset of the Prograune, it is nonethelessfuue that of a]] tire campai.gns we have jolntly rmdertaken thi-s war against theblaclcfly has been and. sti1l is the one that in the long te:rr is brir:ging nostbenefit to our peoplesg By strengthenlng the health of or-r peasant riasses j.t eriables thento live better by producilg nore thror:ghout their l_lfe. 3y serning as a stocli enrmple of soli-d,arity end cooperation, ithelps to teach or.u States that many problens that none car^ tackJe on lts olyrx can be solvcd. if arl set 1o vrork together on anintegrated basis. 'i/e therefore bring iliis brlef statenent to a c1ose, Ivb. Chaj:ruan, by addressing orr heartfei-t honage to the frj-endJ-y goverr:nints and peopt6s wtohave up till now bror:ght us their altruistic and uncontlitional srpport agcl appealing to then to continue with us the fl.:ndamental efforts wrd.ertaken andto strengthen our loint action so that this age-old. seourge is bu:ished for ever fron our region. . History proves that or-rr peoples have long nenories and it goes without seylng that they will never forget the fraternal assLstance wh:-ch rui1l havehelped. us to qfininaf,s onclrocerciasis. SECCIfD MEEEffG OF T}IE NATICNAtr Co}i[trEtEES FoR CI'ICHoCEnCIASIS cotCIfcxr, 5-B Ju{E 1g7B SIAIEI,iET{T O'I IHD ACTIiIITIES'OF IIS,}IASIOIIAI CI{CHOCXACIASIS CO}JT.IITTEE - NIGF,RA Iir Ni.ger the Pnogramle cs\rers the Say arrrndi.ssement, whlch has an area of 15IOOO lmz and a poprd.atlon of T4rB55 jahabitants. A pilot proJect, loecmnr as thettsay ProJect,t, i.s the focus for the ttevelopment actlrities of the OCP zone in Nigerr' Varlous possibllj.tles hsve been ryooted but the d.elay in the derrelopment of the regron and itslsolatlon (for ua"Flel lt .ro;tahs oely two roads, both starbing i.:n J'llamey/ pose some obstacles to the rapi-tl tmFlementation of the project.lhe project w:[IL probably have to uake prorlsion for the settlement ofpopulati.ons lirhose present homes are threatened by the encroachment ofthe ctesert. Two possible settlement areas have been specifiect. They are: : the Sirba basin (fo1si Region); the famon ar€ao [he ialtia-l concept of the project has been re,risetl so that its effeets will benefit not only the lnrmigrant populations but also those alreatly [ving ln the or€&e The project as now corlceived. url]-l therefore seek to i-mprove agricultura-1 productlvity, to clevelop the infrastnrcture(dispensaries, schools) and to launch a progranae for brrilding roacl.s and sinking we1Is. aninal trytrranosmlasis rematns a source of concen:: a prograrmefinanoetl by UND? and./or the nationa-l budget wirl strive to dintnatethl.s dlsease. 1 sumary pneparect by secretarj_at MIITIST$ID XE Li. S.'LirE DES *^r'EAIniS IiOCLALES ?ROLIOII OiI lliilrfii]l,il IUSI,IQUE E! Dli LA EI-IPIf3IIC 01' rI0G0 Work-Fne6d.oq-Fa-bherland DI.ILEC'II olT Gtrxiuil,i gE-:A fiAI,I'IE }gp4cJlr-x EEXYICIS DES cItU'Ir.J'S mtrIEB,trES }TASI OII/,I OTCI]OCENCIASIS C0i,I[1ft'IEES Seeoed. neeting Cotanou 6-8 Jr:::e 19ZB - TIfi] CI{gfiocmcI,lsIs itcelt'J.[5t nT roco+ I rhc &'rchoce:eiasis contror prograroae covers &n area of JoorOoo #: The part of the ?rogrnnn".s a^ffecting [ogo covers countzy and lts southern bornd.ary lies in th6 basin ofof the Oti, r,rh:ich has its source beyond Tanbo* to the l{, of the total creo of the the river ffir a trihrta:ryr scmtlzwest of Bafilo. [he basic ag:eeements ?rere slgned j-n'J:g7l anrl. the progranne bcccneoperational toward.s the end of Lfarch J:}TT, As part of its actirrities a crelegation of neubers of the NaJions,r- orachoed'-ciasls conrnittee v:Lsitecl the ?rogramre zqne jn order to obtai-n e eoxrect id.ea ofthc actirritles - geographical area (see above) - norbhern bo:nd.ary: Upper Volta frrcntier - southens bouurda.ry: z{-ver IyIE Infrastnrcture In [ogo the Progrnrnrn6 hs6 one sectorl (tlrocted by a IEI0 entomologist ofGhanalern natlorra]lty, and tvro subs6ctors (iapaon o"d drr"-Ihr"ll * uyTogolese ontoraolog:Lcal technlcj-ans ; 0perations Yector contro]. operati-ons were launchcd. fu lfar,ch l9TT, They conpz{.sc twoklnd.s of actirity: (f) entomol.og:Lcal surveiJ-lorecdf(Z) ccn:trol- opeaatlons against bJ"acHly Larvae - (using irelicopters) .r./.r, 2Srtouoloq*cj:"1 sumeiJl,ance In each subsector (tnere are three tcons of collectors csb Dapoor and fl"ve at I,ana-iGra), tt " vector coLl-ectors rrlsit pe:m:nent or teupor".ary catcl:lng stations cach week to tlete:mi.::e the blackflLy poptr.latton of the rtgtoe and of the sane tjmo to fi.:rcI out thelr physiologtcal state' Su::reiJ-Lence ls ca:mr"Led out to dete::nrlne the mchocerql"0.61s transratssi,on ratc and. the insectlcld.al deposlts are checked to gauge thelr la.tficlclal. etPect. Each week treatment is car:rriec!. out by i:elicopter (itependi're on .the' anount of watcr in the watercorrscs); onc or two helLcopters are used. for tho rrorkr 'Ihe trea'tEsrt is d.o:o regulor.Ly'on Puesd.qy a? trery week id ozder not to a,ffeot the physj.oJ.ogr of the bllaclrfiy. Hellcopter recoruraissrnces arc carrierl-ort to &iscorer, and itienilf[ breodLtr€ pS.aces (o1c1 and. ne"r). Resu].ts these are satlsfactory in the Dapaoe subsectoq'iriirerc thc hIac,lfl;r-- - .,population ha.s beon considera,bly, reduced. (doar to.p1L i.:r sone ploces). In the Laina-I'vua subg€ctpr starting flnm,.t*rc Kpdl.or cnd Keran r^lvers, a?r appreciable reduction tn aclult blacHJ.y rnurbers'has been achleircd anct there ale In the Id! val1ey thCre are no l'arvae j.n the watercourses but a'd.u1t blaclrf]ics arc present wltch havc probably'cone fron the l(ono and. the.AuJ.6e Sone blac}f,lies have also been-noteC. oorl.fs frcm Soirtbeast Ghena,"in. tJre Vollta region. At Irond.anPozr&da there crre blaotrfHes wtd.ch hare certainly aiso coefrm the Mono e.urd the /tni6. .,,' ' Hence the ro(nvasj-on reporte4'Ln otirer parts of the Prqgpme pr66t Severa-1,$ctors are lnvolved.: E thd lqrdrogra,ph:tc netwcik is very.densc i.n togot .there is no tnre f,o(est jrt 0ogol * it is ctiffltcrrlt to set clearcrrt }lmits to the rone of action of the ,., gnchocercq paraslte (rorest 6 savr$na ffie) I oechocerctasl,s ts r{.fe thror,rghm.t Togo rtght dcrwr: to thc coast, vi:ith opiclc:Trl oJ.ogi.on] Ly cliffereu,tlated zonesz . ffioencleioJ.c zope on the coastl ?:yperend.enic zones in the llorth; a uesrcnd",nr c zone in thc Centre ancl South .../... -5 It is pr-ociealy the dangpr caus.ed bf tbe reCJxrrasidolr of the f:logla@e zone thet lvnfelled- tl:e polltica.l anrl, m:tli.ta:ry autfrdtiee in togo to ask for the ertecsiolr of the Srograime torards the south of foSo' fhls fequest, ]lke those of, the otlrcr participating eoi::rtricsr is weIL or thc way to beir.g met and a-bl.ircl subsector.i-s berng establtcilcd. at /rtakpe:o6. Socia1 and econ@rlc d.evelopment of thc zgne Sete:i:L social ancl econon:Lc <lcvelopmeat projocts have been stcrtcd ln ti:e Pmgraro.e areas Socla-l arul hea-lth clevel-opuo:t - n nu:,iber of Cisp*rsarics and heelth ccntres cre bcj:rg set up to carrlr out tlrcri:i:eutic urcl preventive activities for the bcncfllt of the population ?roject for a soetmeclica]. centze ir. ISorbh 'Iogo Projccts at iQali-nd i.nd. L,;rrlc,-liara to d.ec-l vrith tl:e soqLo.l, probleo Boscri by the bU:rtt Eoor:.ornic developiac.rrt (see sopara.te d-ocr.urent) Sunclry nattere Duni.:rg 1te travels the delegation risited et the Progrannrer s tlisposat (taUor:rtolr-r Sarage t It co].lected iat'ormntion o:: the storagc of cost of lpatc (a 50--lLtre gan costs 5orooO C!A) Ihelicoptci operation ($4oo), etc. the lirflas'tnrcture pJ.cced t5r TqSg i:rsecticidc storcsz etc), fi:eI and insecticldcs, oe the the cost of one hotrrt s [he tlelegatj-on oade contact with the porsorurel vrork[rg ln tho s6rtoB. lhe Nati-onal- Onchocerciasis Corcittec at lomd had tkre b.s,our of Vlsits frml Dr. Comlan I.. A. rJucnr.ua, I'tIO Reglono.L Dj;n€ctdfr Txitb vhs the Cmlttee hod fndtfu-L GLscuseionsl, a [Iorld Bank fcct-fi:rdl.ng rd-Bslm.'.. ])&Y]]IOIUffi[T PT,.UWI][G DiPr\tTIltrl'IT GMi]fttI }IRTETC['*.iTE TOR H-{E ?IllOI lt1trD DE\IIIOPLffiI! MffISUtY 0F tlm pL,oT, tr'IDus,trtlit Dil\ilEIOPMm,I[,UdD,LDX.II[fSIEil.Tfni RmOH,l R]]PUSIIC OI IOGO NOrd 01[ BRIIIGI]IG IIfr0 rEO;r0]JrC uSts IHE ZOIffiS TO 3I l:IrlTin I,'P.O},I OIICHOCIBCI}SIS ff flJmnee al.lows, the onclrocerctasls eraclication progtlalmre sbould cotrer aIL grreat rtver systems of Iogo - the Oti, Kara, Keran, Llono and, Slo - slnce onchocerclasis, stiJl popplarly lmovrn as river bllnd,ness, erbend.s thror:gh all tlrese zones. Iire control activltJ.es ln thelr plesent phase cove? the northern half of Togo abone an obllque line passfu:g; south of the I.16 plain anrl Sokodd and north sf [c]renba,. [Lre zone enclosed. yrttiejJr thesc bounCeries includes the basL:cs of the Oti, Keran, tsara and. ili6 rivers. In wattlng for the prograrrne to be *tend.ed, we @sh here rurd. now to exprtssour satisfaction rrlth the Lrmense worlr so far agconp]ishe,i by those ps1{rrg the?rogr;nne (VUO, UItrDP, !.ii)-.:nd, of eou:rse, Iogo ftseif). [iro purpose of t]:1s brlef note ls to supp\y general fu:-fo:r:.rtlon on alL theprogrurnes for brl-ngtn€ land lntp econom:j-c use that relate to the OnchoaerciasisControl zolxe. Tee Progranrne fsr utiU-zing the areas freerl of onahocerciasls has three aspects: str.rd.les, p11ot aotivities a.nd project tnFtenentatlon. A, [he studles lyere envisagec]- i:: three stages: a resoumes tnventorXrl . pro#parues for usJng tlre l..ued. recovered.; preparation of j_nvestnent proje.cts, Ihr?erlence has taught us that studles desi6necl in tb-i-s way cost too rnrch e3d most of the t'l:'re lead to nothJrrg but the und.erteldag of firrther sturlles. Ihe new concept, more fle.tible ancr- precise, ad.vocates r:nd.ertaking stud.iesthat w111 lJr the nature of thirrgs Iead. to invesinent .pzrcjects tha.t can betr'Trlementett lrlthln a forseeable tl:re. Tln:s [ogo already has a certain nuu.ber of investment p:roJects speeifical\y reJ-at1.:eg to U:e onchocerciasls conf,rol- zone,to tvirlch a nunber of others wrl]. be adderl by flre end. of 19TB and i:r subsequentyears, 2- The present sitr:ation l:r rqgard. to prograames for econorri-e utl-Li-zatlon of recovered. Iand, caa be briefly surm*'ized as follovrs: (") Studles alreacly cazried. out. 1. Irentory of the resources of the Otl valIey (sarrarura 5egion) and. progr.qr, tirr^ of its dcvclopuent - firanced jointly by tIi'DP an6 T9so. 2, Developnent of ttre lridrlJ-e Otj- va11ey (fiaancea exclusively bythe Sogo1ese Govenurent), 3. Development of the Bilah and. Patalor valJ-eys (niner Kara) -sfirclles carrlec,, out with ftalla.n e"sslstance furrcls. 4. FD project for irrtenslffirg peasant crop grqrirg ix the cantons of Nano, Slssi"l.r }Ia:rcrgou ond NiouJqur::ma to tJre vrest of Dqraong(Savar:ne Rsgion). frrpt"o"ntation is due to start at the begiJxntig of 1979 5. rrBtrtentett food..-c::op project irr the Atchang'bade nyrd. Sixka Zoneso TrE lementetion rlr"j.L[ probably bei,;in in 1929. (U) Strxlles 1n progress. 1. Borgou Ranch (Sananr:a ,?egion). 2 .. Ilako Ranch (Central- negion). 3, Development of the lvlandorrrl p1afu. 4. &\"aluation of all the econonic utj-Li-aation progro.urrcS co!.erJngthe northern hal*f of fogo. (") Stud.ies pendin6. Dennelopment of the I'f6 t'ralnr fi::e.ncerl by the liorld Bank. B. PILot carEaJgns of coloni-zation and tra{ntrB of the peasants have been undertaken in the zones to bc fueec1 of dnchocerci"sisr ana in 1:arti-cuJ,ar: (") The l(ara rralley rssettlenent prograuael finanssd joi:etly by EED' and rogg consi.sts of norri.r:g - lrooo fanri'r.igs f:.og the over-populated l{aby,5 hil1s and settl:ag tfren on new lpnd Ja the I(ara val1ey (I(adjalra) where the popukition tlensity is very 1ow. .\first phasel covcring 200 fanilies, has already been torrpleted,Ihe second phase, now la i)ro{tress, - vrj.l.L rnake it possible to settlethe other BOO farriIles by 1981-I9b2. (t) /rriro.I€13.€ss-raislng and. ertension rvork among the peassnts, flaanced _r_o:n^tIr by UIDP and. 'rogo, at Bina.tr (ragouaa), unaa-poz"oar (r*r"-Ihra) and .Ita1ote (ifante) o i- llhe results'of tlrese pilot snmpal€ns (moveuent of poprrlationsl scattered ertenston and tnafutrng-for.cxtension schenes) vnlll serve as dafi.& ltne'g fer. oanFa{gns of the saue t3r,pe but on a greater scale, auf, roore partlcularJ-y when acttne errploltatton of aaeas freed of oncbocerclasis begias. tbey rvllL enable w to obtatn a rrcre reailstlc plctrlre of soclal er,il esonomLc reactions (not alwaye easy to foresee), Flnally, to brlag tlrts note to a close, fe lt carnot be ex}tausti'fg, and l:r rJ.en of the slze of the programe for erploiting tlee land,s freeil of onchocerctasis l:r relation to ttrre overall nrraL d.evclopnent progra.ube, it wouJ-d been aclrrisable to spectfy briefly what orrr poL1cy fui tJrls natter Ls. Orr nual dcvelopment pollcy has three naix strategies appllcable to hryo we3-lldeflleed sectors z .. L. t'wo sfirategies ffud their a;pJ.lcatlon ln thc peosant sector: (f) J.ar.ge-sc&1e camp,algus (covering a reglon or even several reglons) for extenslon,And f,s'ginlng-forr..e:ctensj.on work. Such carrFalgrs are usuallg'difArse and noa'-iatenstve because of ttre slze of, tlre areas tbey have to corvEr, Respbnsi.blllty for then l.s gfuren to speciali-zed nnd. soctoral bod.i.es In adttltton to the food crops necessara$ ilrroJ.ved, they are d,es{grd to'proxrote aparticular erop as a Etore or less prlorlty experl-nent. One exarple ts the proJect for the agriculfiral tlevelopnent of the cottonlgroyrlag areasr others are the cottee/cccoa progz.ar',me and. ttre proJ.ect for the nrral deveLopnent of the Maritine Reglon. (if) Caqrafuns of extension ancl Eafufng-for-extenslon on a ega1L...bcaLe over !ir,rJ'[sti areas and. hence nore i:rtenslve qs! a{nilrg . at prectse obJectltes. The rosults of t}tis type of actirrlty are ' easler to quantlJy. Drrlxg i.aplenentation perlodi.c indlcators guch as the lacrease in prodrlctj.on or iacrease iJr tbe anrLnl1y-cultirrated. drea per actlve agrl"cultural 'rFchp..(tanUy, corground, souitralo, comunlty), the rate of utilizatj.on of the protluctlon factors advoeated, nake 1t.posslblo to assess tJre degree of receptivlty nnd gbodwill of the peasants concenred. [h:Ls ,enables any neccssarJr ch..tnges to bo nad.e in tJre practical nethod.s applled clr.rrine{r'Erlenentatlon of th.e project (systen of tnterroal erraluation). Ihl.s type of oa:rpafun ln nraL areas ls entrrrsted to a bo(y or instittrtion that mrst work on'an autononous basis, An exanple is the palot , operatlon for j:rtenstflcatLon of agrlculttrc Ln the Savenro Regtoa. &c derblopnent of the peasant socte is camlccl out uncler tJre {.I.rect sr,rpenrlslon'of the Dlrection G6n6ra1e de lrAuiration Rurale et.de ltActionCoopdfatlve, It should also bc notecl that Ln addition to glvlng the peasants teclgical tg.a{nJng, pa:rtlcular stress j.s Lald on regfoupttr€ then and on Jolnt utiliaation of farnfug equlpnent. llhls socloecorrcnlc baLnirg 1s to develop progresslrcly tolva:ds the establishncnt of ccoperatlve organlzations. \4 2. The sector of J-argc productlon rrnlts of an l-ndustrtaL nature. lhe need for this sector results flon the contfmimg cou.cern of theGsvernnent to flnd a finaL rer:ed,y for the shortage or food elopsr a shortage partly clue to the cunatie dlsasters that have d.oggecl us.I\:rthemrore, lt 1s obrious tbat despitc t}re extent cf thc srstalred .1r,d conttnuous effort to nodernl-ze the poasant sector over a nunber of years,prog?ess would neTer be enough ln ttre strort-te:n to satlsfy or:r consuner need.s and provid.e mrbstantlal sr.rrpluses for the na.rlcet. This sector is open to all the :hrxtEncsted solElo6s:of, $.rzestr:fnt.Apert firon the State or^ nfxgd-Statq,/prilrate conpanies, tDrfrrate personsof Togolesc or foreign netionoJ-ity vrAll be able to r.rnd.ertnLre activitlesthat cuie consid.ered rriable and. ialaocord,ance wlth or.rr policy in thlssector. Ihe naln areas ernlsaged,are our large rlver Uasfns rvhich allhave a relattvcly low populatlon (ttre Otf, lfO, Sfo and. Irlono valleys).Most of these alleas are those ln lvhlch onihocerciasls is enleni.c ancL whtch arc novr beirrg treated. Ihese zones, r'll:ich have becn nore or less freed of onclrocerctasis,offer vast rrnbroken eultlvable areas and rirarious opportr:rri.tles for newcrops. Bhe Land.-orrnership problerc e.re less seri-ous-there. EVery productlon actfirity fur this sector requlres at the outseta solutlon to the water ffr,s*lgenent irobl_err, hence the need for lqrdro_agrlcultural developnent scheoes. fhis dois not exclud.c jrrtenslve ralqr-season' cultivation lrhich la the ertrene cases of water shortage coulcl be gfiren supplenentcr,ry support tboa irz.igatlon. llhe zones whlch hove to rmrJnir:g extents been freed. of onchocercjaslsaro sultable fron cvery pofuet of vlevr to the establishnent of these$"1g"1turaI produetlon unlts, wirich cou}l Lnclude snall t:lansfornatlonfacl-lltles. Ihe eanpaigres for exploitfurg these zones, yrhile gfirlng a cortalnprtorlty to tJre sector of 3.arge agrlcu1trral or agro-lnaustriat units, w1Il- not neglect the peasantry on the Lancls round the perlphery of thtareas thus usecl We hope to b9 ablq by eaJrry.ing out our various projects for econonLce:cPloitatlon of the recorered fanq to avold nn4rrchtrs resettlenent of therestorecl atreas, h ad.clltlom, a socta]. and culturol idrash.tctrrre anC rmrlous essentlal conralrl(y facIll,ti-es srrch as schoolsi tnffucsnlesrnatem:ity hones, social centres, etc. urill be provirled. _ - $.^troidAl coI.s,IIITt-,$ls FON OIICHOCMCLTSIS Second. neeting Cot_o4ou,6-BJune1978 slAmil'mm oF frm u??tl? votrA ifAtlofl.I{t cou}mmEE FOR OT{CIIOC:*TCLTSIS O}T THI' ECO1IOI6IC AND SOCIAI DE'tmIOPLffi'm 0I Urts OIiCI{0CIACIASIS 5OIi-ES OtrI UPP,;B VOIflA AC,.IIYIIIES OF 1IS, 1";\TIOIri.Al CoirllllfttrE by s. soRGiio, Ixl[c[Oa-e,Iii]tlr.t 0f ,II{, AVII fn Upper Yolta the onchocerciasis programne i::volves 2rO, O0O lm out of a total area of_ 2741 00o lm, Our country is dirrid.ed tutto It Riglonal- Develop- ment Bodles (om) wLictr concern thenselves with the economi.c and soc1a1 dernelopnent of Upper Volta in accordance with the objectives of the llationalPlan of Econon:ic and Socia'l Deyeloprnent. OED activltles have theefore beenin progress for a lor:g tirner even before the Onchoc'erciasXe ?rogrme existed. ., [e11 pitt tlnrs read.iry u:.d.erstand why tn regard tb tire development of zones --fireed. of onchocerciasis Upper Vo1ia, bearllg iJl nind the area rea1ly arra].lriblefor huuan oceupation, Iay stress on the settlenent of the new'ta:rdg in the valleysof thc Volta rivers and. their tributerles, coverir:g sone 27._OOO lmz1 and that theA\i'lI has beon gtvcn responslbillW for thti de,nerop:nent actlfo.ty., lhe campaJ€n of plannQd anl orga:rjaed nigratlon launched,'at the end. of 197j.. anrl beglnnang of ]1974 has al-ready enabled us to settle orer l;200 faelrles ln- t- slx.3on9s, fi_ve of them in the lrhite arflRed Volta valleys and one ln the regionof the 31aek Volta (rourgourlba). Durlrs the present oa",paign we have ha.d tosettle ln ,oo farnJ l1es and we alread,y foresee tlre sef,tlement-of a further Goofern{llssful $7e/]9-79_thrs glvlng us hope that tbe ,peak of 1roo0 per anmu vrillbe attatned fron ].9BOA9B].,, wley arc we carryin5q otrt thi.s pIi:rned a:rd, organizgd ,,{€rattod? ,lSj-nply because vre uust use to the qi-ost thc potentlalittes of our countryia arabilb land, and forest slace Upper Yolta ts sahltun ancl S\rdenian at oneand the same ti-Be, Ar;rone who has 1$rea thror:gh the d.rought, has scen its effectsand' has forxrcl out lts causcs w111 hdrre a better understana:ng of or.u l-iae ofactlon, Itle wlsh to save the lanrI,'"the forests and the farura that are oqr natllt:l:al heritage. , -2- I can say here and non, that or.u planned and organlzed nigration aampalgn ls achleviag real succcss, The achlevenent of tbis suceess now is due to the fact that vrc elrgage{ lu certaia pre$:dnary stucties and took certain stepsi thrs our soclologic:.1 clepartnent c.ond.uoted. a str.ldy of the potential rn:obers of olgrants in d.iJferent zones of the Upper Volta who could be settlecl i.:r the volta-valIeys1 a stud.y vrbich enables the authortt- of the lbanspoz'1r-Settl-enent Semrice to send rlgrant rec:rriting a6ents to the right places for the dLfferent carrpaigns wfth fir11 loaowled.ge'of the facts. [Lre shrd.y ltrrolves the soclal "nd' eoonouic aspects of nigrationr thlsstudyisnovrbejJgsrrpplementeclbyanotherrnorecomprehenslve,one conclucted by students and. yollJ3g acad,enilc staff of the Unlverslty of Perdue and lrdiana; tlL-ls should nake it possible to strlke a balance betvreen lncoraes(or even behveen consumer budg;ts) a:eong Upper Volta peasants jJ1 thefu natr:raI ned.iaT arnon€ so-caIled spontaneous or vri-Ld.oat. ml6rc,nts nnd finally aEnng nigrants scttlecl in by the AW. Moreorerr we hate an lnfornatlon fiLc on the rrigrants rahj.ch is at present j11 Fr"ench onhrr but ls to be tnanslated. Lnto tfte varlous Ia;eguages of Upper Volta. TEE j\Wt S lgSSIoJ A$D ITS 0FGAi[Iz,\:Ig)i'T n{ mli SEJTTIjIS'IENT '\Ax.\s ['l:e AW ln lts settlenent actlvlties 1s seeldngl Ln accordance ruj.th lts terns of referencg to ensrre thst tJre setttentent af,eas entnstecl to' it are a $nanfc force in the econod.c l-nd social developuent of our country. We are conducttng lntegrated cievelopncnt actlvlties ln them. These actinlties have been the target of nrch crlticisn, ht we shal-I- not dwe11 on that crlticisn today. I trust that the AYV'riill- havc an opportuni.ty of rcply:tng to tt jn Decenber ncxt at lond. !o go still flrther ln our econmi.c and socria,l darelopaent activlties and to ens:re that those actlrrltips llrro1re aIL our settlers - nenr l?otrlcll and chlldren - aad, that everybody i.s fulJy occupled, we have taken certain decislons. Wc beLleve that the woxrcn should bc lntegrated. or re-integrated in these actlvlties to 5r wlder extent (trcrrce ttre lastatlaiion of nl1ls fn ifrc settlencnt areas) and th1.s can be done above all throrgh U&rID f\rntts rrbich have enabled us to establish 15u ['l]1age Devclopment f.hnd, trIlth the establlshnent and fjrst utlljzation of thls tr\:nd. vre have requested.. the poasant settlers to set up V5.1l-age Co.,rnntttees - to be the enbryo of a cooperatlve uovenent - whosc task it rzllL be to subult to tlre AW v:illage proJects that they would like to have flnarrced throrrgh..!,his tr\Ed, which ls tJrelr property' Bhese -1t5-11age dormittees are nacie up of both ncn and. \,voncn arrd as'a restrLt of their lntelligence anrl the }d:rd. attentlon of the Upper Volta }flnistry of llealth 1t rrill be poesible for the vlU.ages to be given step by step rll1cgc pbar:lacies whLch wll-I contrlbute to better hrnan health ln those s.rcosr 3- I{ETJ,TII AND XDIE \[I0]I - Heclthi rt 1s precise\y j:: the fleld, of health that the funds we havc recei.ved. are enabr{ng us to inFrove the infrastmcture. flhe Miuistry of Hec.1th. has begr.rn second.i:rg hec.Iflr agents (nurses) to the volta vaI1ey sstLletrent aJl€ELSr All such aroas are attached. to regi-onel bealth sectors.fir:ls should alIay i.tr part the a#lu" u=pou""uA ty sone of or:r visi_tors. We havc Just signed an agreencnt with UNfCIF for a 5-year proJect wlththe follrrwlng ain.s! Supply of extension workers wlth naternal and chl.ld. health naterlaL and bansport. [ii[s 1vi]] help to jr:prove chi-]-cl nutri-tion. In thls connection rve believc, unliJre sone i[GOs, that the nutrltlon of children ln the }{CH serrriccs of orrr settlenent axeas should. be based. on 1oca11y-obtaj-:eed products. Equlpnent of traditional bjrth atterrd.ants. - nqulpmcnt of irrflm.:.rtes (:astrr.rncnts and. nedicarents). Equlpncnt of vI.llage extenslon centres. ItittiJl€ of we1ls and boreholes lvifix soIid. rtns. Educatlon and t!.aini:qr.: Ix regard. to the ed.ucatLon of ch.tldren of the ncrnrly settled peasants aIL the areas now have thelr or,vn school and, the Mlnistry of National Ed.ucationhas strppl-led. teactring sta.ff. In the tnaining fleId. \ry'e are esf,abIisb5.ng a second. f,1.e{njng cenbe and Lrsre decicled that qulte apart fronr the trafnins or re-training of tartenslon workers the peasants thenselres ntrst be abl-e to benefit fron the adnantage ofttrcse centres virlth neetings on sbension rvorb the contlnuatlon of functlonalllteracy activltles to a h'igherrlbrvel (post-Itteracy) and. apprenticeshlp. h regard to protluction or yleJ.tls 1t suffices to say that the peasants who have bcen settled in the Volta valleys obtaln rorch greater yields thasfire aational average for aLL crops. Ieasants who have been settlecl for over 4 years hare already guadnrpledthelr national iacone. I.IETT gq[DS AI{D ITIII(IRE ACTWrIBS .ttt9 AWr bearirrg in nlnd 1ts terns of rcference and the irr,ortance oflts tasksr nncl having as j.ts naL:r frrrrctlon thc correct conduct of itsdevelopnent activltles has united vrlth otJrer pubIlc bodles anrl bar:ks ln UpperYolta to set up ialxed conpanles: S0DlDtPirX, wittr, the task of trying out ,md- expJ-oitlng agricultrrral pro&rcts end thelg d.erirratiries and SoSb S6UROU, forthe prottuction of ougar (OorOoo tous) tur the SOUBOU. 4! To pass on to our firture actlvLtLes, i.t rarst be gaid. straa€lt away thatthe r:grallt-*s€ttlenent operation aocordi;g to tha present Fchedule ls goln€to contlnue. the BELlGI,,fli offlce vrhlch drew up the dwt s global stuay analrreshent progra^me for the five years 19?&^1982 has'' conflLened. tleat oirr settleBent schedrrle is the ri6ht one. The AWlg Bew policy consists !3 opanlng f,or sott1enent vrhole blocks of lancl, Le. settHng all the peasantfan{lisg for a set of 6-S rri:J.ages at eas ,"'d tlre sa.e tinc. In regard. to stenslons- of the slettlenent area ne shall soon be widelyLnvolvod vrlth tho Black Volta and, its trlbutaries. Anong large-sca].e schenes vre hope to be recelvJag. ln- flre near firture the feaslb{Lity stu,ly on thc Bago6daa a,nd contacts are aireatly bejzrg rnd.e for the flni'rrc{n€ of thl first pari. ACTryirlE$ 0F IEIE rJppEl y0il[."" ];"1{'-ic;L'.1', c()?E:I,I,lul1 O;r Natlonal Cornittee for Onchocerclasl.s has played its f01e better sJn+e the Abldjan neetln6 tiran i.t d.id before. AW actlrdtles have been conducted, wlth tts a€reenent and. support, fheneeers of our Natlonal Coraritted. are also neabers of ilre Board, of Dlrectorsof lTV, Our Corrrrl ttee bas heJ.perl the Orohocerctasis hograr,nna throrlgh the good of)fLces of the .lw tl regerd. to the-rnrrlous .locaI coltracts, :n Jnton::ag tUepopulatton of Upper Volta rega,r$ix€ the hogf,.r'rrre an,{ jJtr ar;r63gl3€ rfslti by enlnent forelgn visttors to oin etevelopnentlaroasi flhe Upper Volta l{at-lonal Comrtttee for Onchooersi.ssts perriuaded the AWto recelve the [AI{,S Easr flrrr,rtee(by US,IIO tJrouglr.t}re rI@ which ls tolnventory the natlonal resources or ihe-gias freed of orchtoerclas{s lp lerein,Ghana and. Upper Volta. trl regard to stend.lng the 0nchocerciAstu ?rogarme zone, tJre Uppcr VoLta 'tret{olraL Corrnlf,tee ftr11y shares tJre stanrlpofurt of orr stster courf:rfus whlc6 arerequeottrg eb'^an ertensLon ancl ort assure then of tJre ftrLl support of theUpper Volta authorlttes: 'Ihs Co",qlttee wldree to c.ongratrlate ptrUUcly flreDlrector of the Onchocerclasls'Prograrme anct Hs cLose collaborators and a'r'r g:estaff on tJre work acconpli+bed. [lre Dfu^eCtor qqn regt &ssured that he wlLL oontillre to recelve fron the ar"t*r^r1f,tr:sfi Opper Yolta all the support and asslatancc that he oay requlre.